Finsen’s Nobel Prize for letting light to heal
Finsen's chemical light to heal Niels Finsen was born in 1860 in Faroe Islands, a remote Danish territory located in the North Atlantic between Iceland and Norway. He lived on…
‘Chiaroscuro’ to depict conflict or state of mind
I learned a new word today - Chiaroscuro. It is a art technique, often used to emphasize and illuminate important figures in a painting or drawing. This technique uses colors…
Bullying: A behavior on its way to become a disorder ?
What is bullying ? Today bullying itself is not considered to be a disorder. On the other hand a victim of bullying could develop a post-bullying disorder. Strange it may…
Autism Jigsaw Symbol: Time for a change ?
The word Autism comes from Greek, for "self-directed". In-fact this new word was coined only in the year 1908 by a Psychiatrist Eugen Bleuler, to describe some patients who were…
Three implants to mend heart: Stent, Valve and a Defibrillator
Three implants for the heart have changed the outcomes of heart disease - namely stents, artificial valves, and an implantable defibrillator. Stents can now open a tiny blood vessel supplying…
Christiaan Barnard, and his heart transplants
Christiaan Barnard was made famous on 3rd December 1967, when he performed first human to human heart transplant in Cape Town, South Africa. He was just 45 when he performed…
Mayo clinic: The first modern group practice
William Worrall Mayo (WW Mayo), was born in England in 1819, studied chemistry and migrated to United States in 1845. He first worked as a pharmacist in New York, and…
Virginia Apgar, an accidental anesthetist
All medical students are taught Apgar score, a 10-point scale to grade a just-born as healthy or at risk. This has made Virginia Apgar quite immortal. She however was neither…
William Osler and origin of residency in medical training
Medical training is long. Across the globe, students enter the medical school for an initial generic training. When medical students complete this initial 4-5 years of training, they become doctors.…
The Rise and fall of Mass Miniature Radiography (MMR)
Around 1950s Mass miniature radiography or MMR was a cornerstone of public health screening for Tuberculosis. It was a mobile X-ray unit that roamed villages, towns and cities, photographing the…